by Greg Gillette, Glenwood Springs, CO

Speaking of refined sugar, popular “sweet tea” does not conjure up feelings of health and healing, unless we are talking about Kombucha Tea, the big wave of health that is in every health food store across the nation. Is Kombucha just another fad, or a real health elixir?

Kombucha is the real deal and a healthy and tasty drink that provides energy, many vitamins and minerals, good bacteria and enzymes for digestive health and organic acids, one of which is Glucuronic acid that aids the liver in the detoxification process. Kombucha Tea is a biological active product fermented with a living culture to become a natural living food high in enzymes. The fermentation process of Kombucha leaves it naturally sparkling and virtually sugar free.

Being in Colorado, I took the opportunity to visit High Country Kombucha, in Eagle, to see their operations and how they make the kombucha tea and all the different varieties, like Aloe, Chai Spice, Wild Root, Passion Flower, Ginger, etc.. The origins of kombucha tea is thought to have started in the Far East, as far back as two thousands years. The first recorded use was in China in 221 BC during the Tsin Dynasty.

If you want to save some money and not add more glass bottles to the waste stream, you can make your own Kombucha at home. Use organic refined (but not bleached) sugar and organic black tea, bags or loose. You are adding anti-oxidants to the process through the use of healthy green, black or white tea leaves. The kombucha culture looks like a beige or white rubbery pancake and it is often called a “scoby” which stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts. The culture feeds on the sugar and black tea to create all its healthy benefits. The process is simple and you will have your kombucha to drink in 7-15 days. Visit kombuchacultures.com or organic-kombucha.com to read and see the step by step directions and/or order your kombucha culture.

Cheers!

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at 2:45 pm and is filed under Philosophy, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.